Lean times have fallen on America. Barring a massive political bargain, this year’s federal budget will clock in at below $3.45 trillion, down $150 billion from the previous year (a 4% decrease). Missing are $42.7 billion in defense spending, $28.7 billion in domestic discretionary spending, $9.9 billion in Medicare, […]

   The state of Texas has the highest rate of uninsured people in the United States – 26 percent of a population of 26 million. Of the uninsured, 58 percent are Latino, including 1.3 million children under the age of 18. Under the Affordable Care Act, the Medicaid program would […]

With discord over the policies of austerity racing across Europe and infiltrating US politics, the welfare state has unceremoniously revealed yet another major flaw—it fails to provide social cohesion and directly fosters public strife. During difficult economic times, when people are in the most need of financial, emotional, and communal […]

Just the other day I was having this rather unusual conversation with one of my American friends. I was fascinated at the depth of ‘philosophical’ ideas he had about multiculturalism and making the world a better place to live. But lo and behold, it turns out that this very friend […]

Panelists at the Bertelsmann Foundation’s economic conference do not see much opportunity for progress in Washington DC; however, this might not be as bad as many think. Can gridlock be good if it prevents the government from doing too much harm?